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Preview: Kings look to bounce back against Wolves

The Minnesota Timberwolves spent the summer finding pieces to fit around Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio. Now they don’t have Love or Rubio. The two will both be out until at least next month, leaving veterans Brandon Roy and Andrei Kirilenko - neither of whom played in the NBA last season - to hold the fort. The Sacramento Kings were one of only three teams to finish with a worse record than Minnesota in the West and open with the same core.

Love (broken hand) was hurt in the final week of training camp while Rubio is still recovering from a torn anterior cruciate ligament that knocked him out last March. The Timberwolves were in playoff contention until Rubio’s injury but dropped 20 of their last 25 games without the point guard. The Kings narrowly avoided last place in the West in 2011-12, beating out the New Orleans Hornets by one game. Tyreke Evans and DeMarcus Cousins remain hugely talented but inconsistent and combined for nine turnovers in a season-opening loss at Chicago on Wednesday.

TV: 5 p.m.

ABOUT THE KINGS (0-1): Sacramento is in limbo on the court, in the front office and in California, where rumors of an move persist, this time with Seattle as the rumored destination. The challenge for coach Keith Smart is to get his team to block out those distractions. Evans, Cousins, Marcus Thornton, Isaiah Thomas and rookie Thomas Robinson form an enticing core of young players but there is almost no veteran presence around to guide them. Robinson went 1-for-5 from the floor in 21 minutes in his debut while coming off the bench.

ABOUT THE TIMBERWOLVES (0-0): Love spent the summer winning a gold medal with Team USA and was being counted on to hold things together until Rubio returned. That responsibility now falls to Roy, who retired before last season due to chronic knee issues, veteran point guard Luke Ridnour and Kirilenko, who played overseas in 2011-12. Coach Rick Adelman is hoping Roy can give him 30 minutes a night and would like to see forward Derrick Williams make a leap in his second season.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Sacramento took advantage of Minnesota’s late-season swoon to grab a pair of wins last spring. The Timberwolves had taken the previous two meetings.

2. Smart used the bench liberally in the season opener, giving four different reserves at least 17 minutes in the season opener.

3. Roy averaged 19.6 points in 14 games against Sacramento as a member of the Portland Trail Blazers.

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